Future Women Leadership Series Paul Roos on what elite sports can teach corporate leaders
Nov 19, 2025
Paul Roos, a former AFL player and premiership coach, now leads Performance by Design, guiding organizations on leadership. He shares how elite sports principles can enhance corporate leadership. Roos unveils the significance of embedding clear systems and frequent feedback into culture-building. He emphasizes the need for authenticity and individual attention in leadership, while also cautioning against emotional decisions. By comparing sports to corporate dynamics, he highlights that talent is complemented by hard work and strong relationships for success.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Learning Leadership By Osmosis
- Paul Roos learned leadership first by osmosis at football clubs before consciously systemising culture later in his career.
- He translated club practices into corporate leadership through Performance by Design after coaching Sydney and Melbourne.
Talent Isn't Enough Without Systems
- In sport everyone is talented so effort and systems matter more than raw ability.
- In corporate settings people can rise technically without ever learning how to lead.
Define Your Leadership Doctrine
- Write down the leadership traits you like and dislike and use them to define your own leadership doctrine.
- Paul Roos credits this exercise in 1998 as pivotal to building the system that won Sydney a premiership.
